Redneck Woman, Hell, Yeah

It’s all in how you say it. Does it trip off the tongue with affection in the spirit of bonhomie? Or does it slip through a smirk of contempt, betraying an elitism that Republicans have managed to equate with having attended college and actually learned something. Or “learnt,” if that makes your jeans fit better.

Redneck has become the new word one dare not speak unless one is a redneck. U.S. Rep. John Murtha got himself in hot water for calling voters in his district a bunch of "rednecks" -- a week after saying that many of the Pennsylvanians who put him in office were racist.

Barring that, he might take a page from Sarah Palin’s playbook. In Asheville, N.C., for a rally Sunday, Palin brought in country singer Gretchen Wilson to warm up the crowd.

Now Asheville, hometown of Thomas Wolfe, isn’t exactly the redneck axis of the southeastern U.S.A. Called the Austin of the East for its very groovy music scene, it’s more hip than neck, more granola than grits, more Prius than NASCAR.

But this was a McCain-Palin rally. So those who usually cram the streets and convention center for Smashing Pumpkins or Yo Mamma’s Big Fat Booty Band likely were huddled in Asheville’s numerous coffee houses (that bear radical, socialist, possibly terrorist-sympathizing names such as Izzy’s Coffee Den and the Dripolator), doing elitist things such as blogging or, who knows, even debating what Wolfe might have meant by “a stone, a leaf, an unfound door.”

Gretchen had the crowd fully stoked when Palin arrived, dressed in jeans, and requested the hit song “Redneck Woman.” Palin clapped and sang along. You can, too.

Here is a useful resource related to Gov. Sarah Palin - the most comprehensive page of information on her record available on the Net. It includes videos of her saying her proposed $30 billion natural gas pipeline is the “will of God,” her saying a month ago she doesn’t know what the VP of the U.S. does, and her complaining four months ago that Hillary Clinton was whining about “sexist” coverage -

http://dailysource.org/palin

It has in-depth research, audio clips, videos, excerpts and links to hundreds of articles, including many from papers and TV stations in Alaska. It has rare footage, including her telling the 2008 convention of the Alaska Independence Party, whose goal is to give Alaska a vote on seceding from the U.S. to “keep up the good work.”

The level of research is unparalleled. The site’s editors include an Emmy-award winning CNN reporter, the former operating editor of the Christian Science Monitor’s web site, the former head of NPRs News Blog and the Executive Director of the Online News Association. Check it out here -

http://dailysource.org/

Please spread the word about this Palin info to anyone who might want to know more.

I am from Asheville and agree that it is similar to Austin in that it's "more hip than neck". Like Austin, it is a liberal mecca surrounded by red. If you travel 15 minutes outside of the city, you won't have to look very long to discover people who proudly embody the very meaning of the label "redneck".

What's sad is that while these proud rednecks are good, hard-working people, they are seen at these Republican rallies booing at the term "spreading the wealth around", when it is in fact, their wealth (or lack thereof) currently being spread to the wealthiest.

Many of these "rednecks" would pay less in taxes and receive better health care under Obama's plans than McCain's. Unfortunately, if you ask any number of them about Obama, more than a few will repeat to you the lies and distortions that spread through the Western NC mountains like wildfire early on and never came close to being put out.

I am not a redneck and I shun the label but I do live in an area where many are proud rednecks and they have the bumper-stickers to prove it. They are my neighbors and they are part of my community. Therefore, it sickens me that they are constantly being taken advantage of by the Republican party, who prey on their fears and ignorance for votes, while doing little if nothing in return for them. I hope to someday see that change.

Wow. Feel the hate. The last bastion of discrimination is hatred toward whites and rural people. Interesting to note that the "inclusive" and "tolerant" crowd is both woefully ignorant of the actual demographics of their target, and painfully aware that their enemy has a better quality of life.

"The last bastion of discrimination is hatred toward whites and rural people."

I'll tell you what. I'll take the occasional snobbery from city people if you'll shoulder the burden I bear every time I visit much of rural America (particularly the South). As a gay man I suffer the very real possibility of being denied a job or a place to live in many rural areas. I suffer the very real possibility of being ganged up on and beaten senseless.

So please stop whining about your terrible cross to bear as a small towner. It pales in comparison to what some (but not all) in small towns routinely do to people they don't like, particularly gays, nonChristians, people of color, etc.

I never used to think "redneck" was a slur. I thought it was just another way to describe an ethnic/socioeconomic group. To me, "white trash" is a slur, and a complex one at that.

Then I started to see people taking offense over the word "redneck". I didn't share their view that white folks are oppressed in this country (I'm white myself and I haven't noticed it) but I thought, OK, in the interests of calling people what they want to be called I'll remove that word from my vocabulary. Now it seems to fall in that category of words you can use about yourself but not about somebody else. *shrug*

"Ignorant and proud of it" is the GOP base. It's that simple. These folk need help, guidance, and someone to tell them what to do. A preacher's (or con man's) dream come true. And they never ever question authority.

The GOP is betting the quantity of Ignorants outnumber the Informed. They make no secret who they market to. Same with Fixed News. Oh, and the quality of the Ignorant at these GOP rallies is truly breathtaking.

And the rest of the world watches...thanks, GOP and Fixed News, for making all Americans look like idiots.

oh, for crying out loud!
Some people might use redneck as an insult to apply to the worst possible characteristics of some of a group of people, but there are a lot of non-bigoted country folks who wear the title with pride, too. Check out rednecksforobama.net. Or, if you prefer, another group, rednecks4obama.com

And another thang---That Palin gal has had a voice coach(as this redneck read in Sunday's New York Times)

Ah, yes, the Republican base...those rednecks and evangelical Christians and the ignorant - the ones who don't think for themselves and wait for leaders to tell them what to do and how to think and where to go...sheeple. Why are the Republicans so fearful of the elitists and the educated and the intellectual? Because we can look through their line of BS and know that they are out to screw everyone they can and hoard all the wealth for themselves. I think, therefore I am a Democrat!

I first started reading Ms. Parker's column while living as a rust belt Midwesterner in that right wing bastion unparalleled; Utah. It generally made me sick to my stomach. So it's refreshing for me to learn that she is not an automaton tool of the right, but a thinking, bright and fairminded human being. Thank God for her and Noonan and Buckley and Brooks and Will and the rest, I may never agree with their ideology but they have all earned my respect. I hope they can save their party, it'd be fun to have a worthy adversary again.

GreenHornet1,
Your skin is too thin. Toughen up! This article was not written by a bigot. I grew up in Asheville and still have family there. My other family members who have lived outside of Asheville forever are hicks, not rednecks. And I say that with affection. We are a diverse family; we agree to disagree. They don't travel far from their roots because they prefer that, while the big city drew me. If I brought any of my liberal/ethnic/educated friends to their homes for dinner (middle of the day, as opposed to evening), they would be friendly, warm, and have the good sense not to bring up religion or politics. My southern family is polite and tolerant; my friends are their friends and vice versa. Rednecks, however, are intolerant. We mostly ignore them. They may turn out for a rally with Palin because it's entertaining, but they don't vote. They're too busy working to pay for Bush's war bills.

Put it this way..When I think of Rednecks..I think of White Men in Pick up trucks with Conf. flag bumper stickers..aka..RACIST white people. So you can use the turn all you want to describe yourself. Basically..you're just outing the fact that your a racist. I dare you to go into a black or even hispanic neighborhood talking about your a redneck. You WILL HAVE A RED NECK when you leave..RUNNING from an angry mob;)

Fear mongering is what the GOP knows best. Creating fear in order to achieve your agenda and control the masses has been used since the dawn of age...because it works. The GOP's base is the uneducated rural america while at the top of the ticket usually sits a filthy rich often corrupt person. It's the sad truth in America. If you want your country back get out and vote...Don't trust the polls.

The Democratic party in the United State has its roots and long tradition as the party of the common person. For nearly 200 years, "pocket-book" issues, labor rights, and fairness have been the major hallmarks of the party. True, there have been aberrations in different regions, but the basis of populist government lies in the Democratic party.

The present spate of fear-mongering by desperate party backers of John McCain and the appeal to the worst features of American character leaves us to wonder what values a McCain-Palin administration would actually represent. Is it not better to lose with some dignity than to swirl the waters of racism, classism, and raw baseless fears?

The Democratic party in the United State has its roots and long tradition as the party of the common person. For nearly 200 years, "pocket-book" issues, labor rights, and fairness have been the major hallmarks of the party. True, there have been aberrations in different regions, but the basis of populist government lies in the Democratic party.

The present spate of fear-mongering by desperate party backers of John McCain and the appeal to the worst features of American character leaves us to wonder what values a McCain-Palin administration would actually represent. Is it not better to lose with some dignity than to swirl the waters of racism, classism, and raw baseless fears?

I thought the Obama team had an all inclusive philosophy. To start bashing any social group, specially hard-working people, is completely unacceptable. Where is the "we are all equal" theme Obama preaches?

wow, cool.
i watched this clip with sarah palin and the clip where jay leno talks with michelle obama. real people are great when there isn't political theater. let us, down-to-earth people, get involved in politics.

That had to be the most stupid 3 minute video of the campaign. Unfortunately, I decided to watch that train-wreck.

Palin didn't know the words (like she would know any words?), the song went on WAY too long to introduce a vp candidate, and EVERYONE on stage was bored about 30 seconds into the 'introduction,' - if you could call it that.

Is this the level McCain and Palin have stooped to? Promising a singer she could sing her "Redneck" song to completion before the Republican vp candidate got a chance at the microphone?

What a joke~! Seriously. Senator McCain and Governor Palin, it is time for you to exit the national stage. Otherwise, the country may have to resurrect the Gong Show hook, just for BOTH of you.

Cut to ominous conference room with all the highback chairs turned away from table. Cam zooms on head of table where a hulking Toddenegger stands in shadows to the side. Chair swivels round a la Number One in Bond films. Feylin in shiny shiny duds stroking cat and smiling smiling. Closeup aside, "I got this cat from Uncle Ted, and it was *not* a gift!"

(Flashback above could be done an on-stage big-screen replay while boardroom watches. The Toddenegger handles the remote. Menacingly.)

Cut back to Number One, "Todd-man, show him what we do when boys fail us..." Cut away with Bond theme music and 60s graphic transition, cut back to Obondo doing something Bondy on the other side of the finish line... like getting the tall tall Bond Girl impersonated by a Michelle-O impersonator. (maybe Obondo is very very short?)

Cutback aside: Feylin, "...and these shiny shiny clothes which make me look so good and get all the boys yelling [smiles a dreamy smile of world domination] ...I got them at a consignment shop back home, right Number Two?!" Meekly, "You betcha?" Feylin frowns. Last frames show a large shadowy Toddenegger moving towards Meekly's chair (or pointing the remote) ... like he did with McCannery.

What’s happening to this world? I’m one of those liberal Obama voters, but I’m becoming a fan of yours.
I think the real point you’re making is that the Republican party has to start acting like the party of smart, educated adults; not uneducated miscreants. And, I absolutely agree. This nation has a two party system which ideally, should keep our democracy in some kind of balance. It’s been out of balance for the past eight years, and now it looks like the pendulum is swinging the other way, (to my delight). However, in the long run, this country needs two well balanced parties that can get along with each other in order to function. If the Republican party becomes the party of the proudly uneducated, the rednecks, the religious fanatics, political balance will not happen.

I've decided that you are "way hotter" than Sarah Palin from gazing at the mini-photo shown on your blog. Ann Coulter will hopefully shrink away and get a haircut that befits her age...

It seems that hot-looking older babes are the in-thing right now, even though they aren't necessarily "hot" in real life situations. Nonetheless, as an age 61 male voter I'll follow you wherever you say is the way to go... Hey, can we have a few beers afterward? ;-)

Associating ignorance with rednecks is too funny to me. I am a proud, city redneck, having spent most of my youth in Louisiana and Wyoming. My wife is a 5th generation Cajun and absolutely qualifies as a redneck. Between us we have one PhD and three master's degrees (from state universities, of course). We are happy to be included in the redneck club. Our families are southern born and bred and take no offense at being called redneck; we all just laugh. Most of our siblings are college edu"ma"cated and several have advanced degrees. Perhaps you wouldn't immediately identify us as rednecks when you first met any of us but once you get to know us there's plenty of clues. We variously hunt, fish, listen to gospel and country music (I prefer hard rock), drive big trucks and little itty, bitty econo-boxes, barbecue and smoke animal parts, drink beer and hard "likker" and fancy wines, etc. We have jobs that require high tech skills and professional degrees and jobs that don't require any special skills. We don't all vote R and many of us vote I or D. Wait a second, it sure seems that's similar to a lot of people who don't call themselves rednecks. Embrace a redneck tomorrow or better yet, embrace your inner redneck. Once you get to know enough of us, you will see that we are not much different from non-rednecks, except that we think you talk funny.

City people, urban people, the urbane educated people, strivers, achievers, delicate people, those of us with soft hands and clean fingernails who seek to figure things out with a big picture in mind ... we are universally denigrated, without hesitation, and almost without exception, by rural/country folk.

This isn't a uni-directional divide.

The only difference is that rural/country folk are able take advantage of the civilization and technological achievements that distinguish us from rural/agricultural pre-literate societies (in this case, the internet -- specifically the website of the Washington Post) to spit all over those very achievements.

Want to live in a redneck world? Get off the internet, get out of your manufactured trucks, get off the engineered infrastructure, and go live your proud, ignorant lives in a true agrarian culture. Try Sudan.

No?

Then shut up and take advantage of our advanced civilization (i.e., get an education), and stop whining when people call you stupid. Your prideful underachievement is tiresome.

For the RepubliPalin Party to court "rednecks" with overt denigration of those who don't live in small towns or rural America is to court political disaster.

Cities and metropolitan areas are growing -- as they always have in all advancing cultures through history. Only civilizations that are on the decline see their rural populations grow. (So if it turns out to be a good strategy ... Heaven forbid.)

The reason why cities' populations grow and rural areas shrink is that there is a natural gravitation toward achievement and potential among humans, which comes with being with a lot more -- and more diverse -- humans. Strivers leave the countryside to join the growth of civilization in cities.

As a native of San Francisco, I'd always been struck by how many gays had southern or rural accents. In my youth, I'd associated those accents with "being gay." Then I realized that gays and lesbians in San Francisco were, for the most part, not natives of San Francisco -- they were the diaspora of southern and rural America. They had sought the freedom and acceptance that San Francisco offered for intellectual and cultural growth. They attend our colleges, find professional careers, and generally make their lives better, thus improving our neighborhoods and raising our overall value (economically & culturally).

And the same is true of the vast majority of my city's population -- or the population any successful city -- it is made up of the diaspora of the world, all seeking to improve their lives, and thus improving mine. (As a native-born city kid, I've been lucky to not have to pick up and move here, but I have benefited tremendously by all the different people -- gays and Hindus, Ohioans and Hispanics, even self-described "urban rednecks" -- who have all come to "The City" to take advantage of its incredible opportunities.)

And that is happening all over America, just as it is all over the world. So to base a political movement on pitting those who stay behind against those who move to live with more -- and more diverse -- people, is an a-historical folly and mathematically inept. Redneck translation: stupid.

CaptainJohn - I think maybe you missed the point? Palin obviously thought she would bond to this crowd of rednecks in her jeans, singing the redneck anthem. She was talkin to a buncha sutherners and she made an erroneous assumption that they were rednecks who would be riled up that she was one of them.

Having grown up with a lot of rednecks (aka hill-williams) I would attest to this: other than liking to drink beer, planting hoodless cars on cinder blocks to rust in the front yard, and acting stupider than dirt there's nothing really much more to say about them. Watching cars go round and round on an oval track for hours on end seems to be the perfect entertainment for them.

Redneck or rural folks, elitists or professionals, we need to understand we all have a place in our country. We do not all have the need or means or native intelligence to attend college and become erudite. Similarly, we have no need for two hundred million factory employees or construction laborers. But we must be secure enough and humble enough to recognize our limitations. It is both dangerous and foolish for our citizenry to believe that anyone "just like them" can run a country as complex as America. While I think I understand where the conceit comes from, I have no clue how to get rid of it.

Merrill1, I wholeheartedly agree with you. But this time it is not the conceit of someone who thinks he can run America, but the gall of someone who wants to "change America" that scares me to death. America is the greatest country on earth. We need changes to our government in Washington, but we do not need to "change America."

About rednecks. Obviously rednecks like to make fun of themselves, but do not like people making fun of them. That gets into the discrimination or thinking you are better than they are. Is this not what the blacks think? That the whites think they are better? Sadly, Obama has made race an issue in this campaign. I have not heard McCain or Palin talk about race, but Obama has harped on the subject. Except of the horrible Wright and terrible Rose, Obama's friends are white!! He has stirred up race to get the votes. If he wins it will be interesting to see what he does for them. Drop them, I think. This is all about HIM and his radical buddies. He is an empty suit.

If Sarah Palin was a true redneck she wouldn't be siding up with some multi-millionaire who doesn't know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck.
She's deceitful, ambitious and prejudiced.
And hiding behind all of the above.

It's unbelievable that in this day and age anyone strives for the title "Redneck" especially a woman in a government leadership position. Does Palin have the intelligence to understand that she stands on the shoulders of intelligent women and men that fought to overcome the suppression of women.

Sarah, if Rednecks set the rules you wouldn't be a governor but your pandering to cavemen really is appropriate. You found the base that will follow you.

With you leading the charge to de-evolve the country I suggest the GOP's elephant become a wooly mammoth.

you don't need an experience to run for president. you don't need to prove if you were born in america. all you need to do is associates with people hating america. the leftist, the radicalist, the marxist, undesirable people of america will vote for you.

these paid negative bloggers, need some sleep. rest your brains. take a bath, to refresh yourself, open your eyes. you will be surprise how beautiful the world is if mccain, and sarah will lead the country.

Bravo, Kathleen. I really hope you will continue this kind of commentary AFTER the election. As other posters have noted, this country needs two political parties with different developed takes and ideas, which watch over and critique one another in civil and intelligent ways. The Republican party, as it stands now and has for some time, is morally and intellectually unfit to be one of these parties.

Being racist means you discriminate against something that a person cannot change like their skin color....being an ignorant redneck or a racist is a choice therefore it is NOT racist of us to treat them like the scum they are....NOTE to rednecks: Its not the huntin, the NASCAR watchin or the Meth takin that bothers us...ITS THE IGNORANCE YOU DISPLAY.

So be yourselves just educate yourselves a little more....I dont have a college education and I make less than a walmart mom, but if I dont understand something I educate myself at the library or on the computer. Its OK to know things because then you are less likely to be played by people who want to take advantage of you....Like the Republican party.

Why do you care about rich people getting richer?? They dont give Americans jobs anymore they send them to China and with all the loop holes and fancy accountants they hire they hardly pay taxes...So dont let those greedy jerks trick you into voting for them...The government was set up to protect Americans and our rights to Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...If the 1% Americans who are rich have all the money and stuff it in Swiss Bank accounts then that would seriously affect our ability to achieve.

Its nice to read all the nice comments about rednecks and Palin. Liberals are well .. so amazingly tolerant.. NOT !

Yes.. some rednecks are no doubt racist and sexist (not just a redneck attribute given the treatment of Hillary and Palin) and uneducated... and we all need to work on those issues and improve ourselves... but.. I also know many "rednecks" who are gracious, loving, hard-working, charitable persons, Christian persons, many willing to fight for their country in the services.

If Obama's message of unity and bipartisan is real.. it would be nice if it was shared by his liberal supporters.

Red Neck will probably never be a term of endearment to a 60 year old native Virginian like myself , but decidedly more offensive , to me , are the retrograde ideas foisted upon my fellow Southerners under its banner .

We Southerners struggled well into the 19th century , to rid ourselves of an economic caste system that kept most Southerners in poverty , promoted child labor and underfunded our public schools ;with the expressed intent of increasing the supply of child workers .

Not until after WWII, was real progress made in elevating education standards in public schools in the South - so to see my fellow Southerners celebrate anti-intellectualism on any level –is truly an anathema, as far as I’m concerned.

And given the fact, that much of this intellectual retrenchment and its celebration of Sarah Palin as the standard bearer, is linked to a callus political strategy hatched by non-Southerners -it and the GOP whiz kids who cooked it up, deserve an extra measure of scorn .

But to give all due credit , the whiz kids out did themselves in the selection of Ms Palin – she is apparently too true an embodiment of anti-intellectualism for the more staid element in the GOP . Saracuda is causing a bit of indigestion around the “just desert” table and we now have a clearly acknowledged demarcation between Real and Nominal Republicans .This could be the making of a very nasty divorce.

In that battle - the Palin wing - vs- the Anti-Palin wing . It’s a simple matter - the Anti-Palin wing wins, they’ve got the fancy lawyers - and by the way, the money .

Real GOP membership requires a net -worth of, at least, the tens of millions it takes to rise above auxiliary or honorary status. And nowadays there seems to be the additional membership requirements of:
• Sufficient adherence market free gospel to overcome any concern for the common good and posterity and
• A willingness to permit or be party to , the unconscionable financial sabotage of America and its future via endless tax cuts and US job eliminations.

Real GOPers never seriously gave “ a hoot ” about Nominal GOPers cultural issues -- and the Real GOPers will ultimately take their Party back - it’s theirs ,it has always been theirs .

We should not forget, the GOP likes to redecorate every now and then, they were the “faux civil rights party ”- before they were the ” faux cultural issues party ” . However, the one thing they have always been clear about is : they are the party of the rich.

Red necks are running for their political lives back to America's Southern hills this year. I'm glad theyr'e not forcing their "God Fearing" rustic-minded red necks on us all this election. I'm sick of red necks after 8 long years....

Mark my words; This is The End of the GOP as we know it. In years to come, they will eventually become slightly more than an insignificant party. This has been coming for years now. They will be marginalized as an ultra right neo-con, bigoted, religious-fanatic party.

Case in point: When the talk becomes of how Sarah "Bubbles" Palin is the future of the party, well then it's time to cue the chirping crickets.

However, from their ashes will rise another party that is more middle of the road with a mantra of fiscal conservatism.

The good news is the neo-cons and religious fanatics will be pushed farther to the fringe and will wield no real power.

I watched the video and what got me more than anything was her intro and the local politician trying to convince the audience of her relevance for being VP was that 'she's just like us'. Haven't we had enough of that. I think the reaction we see here to redneck-ness is that's who wrangled Bush, thru church blitzes, into office and it's a group that isn't representative of the whole. I would beg to differ that a redneck from AK is just like rednecks elsewhere. Look at Joe the plumber, he's another redneck type and now he's getting a bunch of free clothes, cash to pay off taxes owed, and is an advisor on the remaining international policy tour. He should thank Obama for that one.

So not another Crazy Obessed with personal
attacks on Gov Sarah Palin by that goofy
hateful Obama Shill Kathleen Parker again
today..The fact is that Parker is sooo damn
obessed with and jealous of Palin that
Parker has went totally rabid and lost what
few marbles these WAPO Obama Shills may have once possessed,therefore Parker is
totally unable to write anything else except her angry vile vicious attack pieces
again Gov Sarah Palin the Next Vice President of the United States!

FYI for all you liberal types who love to believe that conservatives are simply dunderheads and ignoraemuses who do not understand the nuances of the world.... There is an Economics professor over at GMU who sometimes calls himself "just a simple redneck".... and he won the Nobel prize.

For all of you that are having so much fun critizing "rednecks"----Do you really know one??? I live in a small southern town that-yeah-has its share of "rednecks", I guess. Most are hard-working country folks who feel they must identify with some "group" and are not so fortunate as many of you to mingle with the "higher class" of society-whatever that is--. Sometimes they talk too loud--but so do many of out overbearing politicians,etc.-but I can tell you this much--if you ever need someone in a crisis in your life, they will not judge you on money or materialistic values or your "so-called" position in society--they judge you on what kind of person you are. Of course, there are "rednecks" who are obnoxious, but there are also many wealthy high society characters who are also obnoxious!! I am rambling--but my main point lies in the fact that AngryLiberal hit a sore spot with me. I am a retired educator who worked with high school students for 34 years. Many had lots of social problems to overcome and financial responsibilities to their families and could not finsih school. Many did take the time to obtain a GED----NOT IGNORANT---but a victim of society. I have seen tears in their eyes when they passed this test because it was important to them to at least take this step. So--all people who must take step at a time in the education process and might not be as fortunate and judgemental as you are not all ignorant.

I wouldn't say that putting a "redneck woman" in the whitehouse is a good thing.
Oh my god, imagine how the world press will view her, never mind being smart, but talking stupid is not something to be proud of.
Yeah, you may get what you deserve....again.
Imagine President John McCain speaking so angry as he always does to try and shut her up...wink wink, ya bethca John Boy.

Shadowbox 77 writes: "Therefore, it sickens me that they are constantly being taken advantage of by the Republican party, who prey on their fears and ignorance for votes, while doing little if nothing in return for them."

Shadowbox 77 writes: "Therefore, it sickens me that they are constantly being taken advantage of by the Republican party"

Lets see
1) Abe Lincoln was republican and fought to free the slaves.
2)President Dwight Eisenhower (rep) fought for additonal freedom for the African Americans in 1957
3) Martin Luther King was a republican, Sammy Davis Jr. & Michel Williams because democrates where the leaders of the "KKK" and other groups that fought to surpress the freedoms of African Americans.

And now the Democrates are trying to landblast rednecks and to make ignorant remarks that republicans are taking advantage of them? Whats next? You want to hear & learn about racistism & suppression then go to this web site http://www.nbra.info/

Yikes!!! I'm an African American woman who has spent most of her life living in NY and LA. Now I live in Northern Virginia. In my life experience, the term Redneck has always conjured images of folks who have no love for people like me. In fact, it is associated with the folks who enthusiastically lynched my brethern a half-century ago. Which is why I shuddered when I heard Palin embrace the term. I realize that the the "R" word is embraced by those who claim it in much the same way that some blacks enthusiastically claim the "N" word, but frankly it turns my stomach to imagine a global leader claiming either. This is the 21st century. Ours is a diverse nation where leaders need to be sensitive to how labels such as these polarize the population. Palin's celebration of the term may have drawn cheers from those who were at the rally, but to people like me it draws nothing but jeers. It also disqualifies her as someone I could ever support as an elected official. I hope she and McCain lose badly to discourage others from repeating the fear/hate-mongering tactics these two have employed in their quest for the White House. Americans deserve better.

According to the Obama campaign, this country is filled with racists yet no anti-Americans exist at all despite the FACT that one of Obama's buddies, to this day, calls for the collapse of the US gov't...

Just who is the fear monger? I think that label is not unique to just one political party.....

Somehow, someway, I am supposed to IDENTIFY with this person?? Sorry, but this chick IS a whack-job, if you ask me. It is all about her and she would throw John McPain under the bus for her own gain, any ole' day. Perhaps she should sing a song about that! Let's be REALLY real, Sarah....

Anybody who uses labels to define themselves should be grateful if someone governs our nation exempt from using those labels because then the labels are not used on them! Get it?? Think about it. It'll come to you.......

Labels signify ignorance and fear for the ones using them. Intelligence and true freedom/communication follows in their absence. All labels do is slow us down as a nation and as a people. We can do better than that. And we will on 4 Nov......

What's your point with this piece, Kathleen? Is it to show us conservatives one more time how much contempt you now have for us? I am a female attorney who grew up in cosmopolitan/international Miami, FL but loves country music. Redneck Woman is a great song plain and simple. It's a lot of fun to sing along with and really captures the feelings of one part of our great American quilt. Remember how we're supposed to be tolerant, Kathleen? Get over yourself girl! You have been placing yourself way too high on the pedestal for the last few weeks. Loosen up. Take the pole out of your backside.

Even Children born post civil rights movements imbibe this racial prejudice from their Parents.

Be that as it may, I believe that what we have as racism is negligible.

An example is the performance of Obama both in the Primaries and in the Polls so far.

White Americans have come out in large numbers to get him to where he is now.
And they will also play big roles in giving him victory on Tuesday.

If I could reach a conclusion on this basis, I opine that racism is fast giving way to tolerance in the face of our differences.

Who would in all honesty think, in less than a year ago, that Obama would be the flagbearer of a major Political Party in the US?
Even his major black supporters had their doubts then.

Thank God the racial divides are being bridged.

We will one day, reach the stage where the skin of a man will not matter like the color of the eye.

And for the blacks, it is also incumbent upon them to rise above what has held them down in their communities, rise above the racial slur to contribute to the progress of America. How can you do that? Get education, leave the life of Crime and be socially responsible in your community.

As President J.F Kennedy said "Ask not what your Country can do for you, but for what you can do for your Country"

Its a wake up calls to all blacks.

Obama didn't whine, so many black Americans refused to whine and be held down, I didn't whine either because I am black and I will not whine now because of a Skinhead OR redneck.

We went out there and got what is most important, which is education and knowledge.

I am Turkish and I can objectively tell you how US looks from outside right now. No one in US media wants to admit it but people in US are very prejudice. US claims to have put back the racism in their country and focusing on other countries being undemocratic and racist. You have no right to push judgment any other country, while your people still harbor racist feelings. Fix your own mindset before judging others.

What have Dems EVER done for blacks except keep them wanting for more? TAlk about ignorant and used....

Posted by: boosterprez | October 30, 2008 2:32 PM

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try educating yourself before opening your trap - here's a bit of history.

When did republicans become democrats and democrats became republicans?

in 1964, Johnson signed the legislation, the southern Democrats became Republicans, the progressives in the north had already become Democrats during the Depression, and we have the harvest today of all these things. This great national/political party flip-flop is not well understood, but if it were, I think it could be the key to turning our nation around. The blue states used to be Republican, the red states used to be Democrat. Only the names have changed, however, and it was not to protect the innocent. Despite the name changes, the philosophies have stayed the same. Lincoln, the first Republican President, was a tax-and-spend liberal. The Democrats (now Republicans) of the day accused his Republicans (now Democrats) of being the party of "filthy operatives (factory workers), greasy mechanics, tight-fisted farmers, and moon-struck theorists" (McPherson, 'Battle Cry of Freedom'- and notice that coalition still pretty much describes the Democrat party except for the 'tight-fisted farmers'). And they were right. Lincoln taxed everyone and created the USDA. He taxed everyone and launched the Homestead Act . He taxed everyone and launched the Transcontinental Railroad and the Land Grant College system. With this enlightened tax and spend policy ("In a nation's early years, debt is a vital and creative collaborator in economic expansion; in late stages, it becomes what Mr. Hyde was to Dr. Jekyll: an increasingly dominant mood and facial distortion"- Phillips) Lincoln paved the way for the US economy to explode and for the nation to become a superpower, for better or for worse. And he is still hated in the South, now the heartland of the Republicans. How ironic. Were he alive today they would kill him again, no matter what he called his party.

what's funny is that she doesn't actually seem to know the words she's attempting to sing along with.
what's sadder than a closet elitist trying to pose as something as pathetic as a 'proud redneck'?
puzzled in sharpsburg

Yenz know that I once had a squeeze pretty near Worthless Jack's District.

Now me and this here girl spent a Saturday afternoon on her folk's backporch together drinkin beers, shootin 22 rifles at beer cans while chewin copenhegen snuff. Yea, yenz would not believe that this girl would take a dip of snuff now an agin.

Ignorance is not a trait to be embraced. America depends on the literate to maintain its distinction on the world stage as an educated nation. Nobody respects nor looks up to the uneducated fool parading about proud of thier stupid status. The Republicans and Democrats alike should repudiate those among their ranks that find education and literacy to be a liability.

If to be able to read and appreciate Shakespeare is "elitist" then that'll just have to be what I accept. Not being about to read your electric bill or phone bill is just plain, well, dumb. Let's hope this is not the "typical" American.

I went to school in a "rural" town, and believe me, even the locals found value in education.

How has it come to this ?? The degeneration of America in the information age. This is proof that we NEED more education now!!! For a journalism major to not understand something as fundamental to their trade as the 1st Amendment is unfathomable. To incite hate between Americans with "real Americans" and "pro America" rhetoric after hate attacked the US on 9/11 is just unconscionable. After seeing first hand what fostering hate in Rwanda, Congo, East Timor and Sudan has done, I don't want it in my country. We are all real Americans and let's work together for a better world and not fall for this lame attempt at winning by pitting us against each other.